Rotating grain tank unloader

ABSTRACT

A grain handling apparatus for a combine harvester including a horizontal transfer auger in the bottom of the tank for conveying grain to a discharge opening in the bottom of the tank and a discharge conveyor including a conduit and a discharge auger. The lower end of the discharge conveyor is rotatably mounted in continuous communication with the discharge opening for movement about an axis extending transversely of the conduit between an unloading position inclined upwardly and outwardly and an out of use position. The discharge auger is driven by the transfer auger through bevel gears, an intermediate shaft rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of the discharge auger, sprockets on the discharge auger and the intermediate shaft outside the conduit and an endless chain trained around the sprockets.

[451 May 23, 1972 l 54] ROTATING GRAIN TANK UNLOADER Franz JosephHerbsthofer, Kassel-Harleshausen, Germany Massey-Ferguson G.m.b.H.,Kassel, Germany [22] Filed: July 6, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 52,489

[72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

2,783,907 3/1957 985,436 2/l9ll Hudgins .2 l 4/ 522 Mount 198/100Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Jerold M.Forsberg Attorney-Gerhardt, Greenlee & Farris [57] ABSTRACT A grainhandling apparatus for a combine harvester including a horizontaltransfer auger in the bottom of the tank for conveying grain to adischarge opening in the bottom of the tank and a discharge conveyorincluding a conduit and a discharge auger. The lower end of thedischarge conveyor is rotatably mounted in continuous communication withthe discharge opening for movement about an axis extending transverselyof the conduit between an unloading position inclined upwardly andoutwardly and an out of use position. The discharge auger is driven bythe transfer auger through bevel gears, an intermediate shaft rotatableabout an axis parallel to the axis of the discharge auger, sprockets onthe discharge auger and the intermediate shaft outside the conduit andan endless chain trained around the sprockets.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FATENTED MAY 2 3 i972 sum 1 BF 4 lnveniorFRANZ JOSE H #[ABSTHOFER A TTOR/VEYS PATENTEDHAY 23 1972 3, 664, 52 5sum 2 BF 4 FfF/J/VZ JOSEPH Hf/PES THOF/ EM, Wi

wra /v5 PKTENTEDMAY 23 I972 SHEET 3 BF 4 MR Qx I nvenlor F M/VZ JOSEPHHHFBSTHU/f/Q fl hq eflw ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEDHAY 23 I972 3. 664, 525

sum u, [1F {1 A TTORNEKS ROTATING GRAIN TANK UNLOADER This inventionrelates to a grain tank for a combine harvester, and in particular, to anovel unloading conveyor for removing grain from the grain tank.

Unloading conveyors for combine harvesters comprise a tubular conduitand an auger extending internally along same, the conveyor, in use,projecting upwardly and laterally from the tank. At or adjacent itslower end, the conduit is connected to the tank, a feed passage isprovided between the conduit and the tank, and, in use, an auger in thetank feeds grain through said passage into the conduit, and the grain isconveyed up the conduit to its outlet by the conveyor auger. The augerin the tank drives the conveyor auger. Also, the conveyor is movablefrom its in-use position to an out-of-use position more suitable forroad travel. The conveyor is also moved to its out-of-use position, whennecessary to avoid trees, for example, during field work.

According to the present invention I provide a grain tank and anunloading conveyor of the type set forth above, in

which the conduit is rotatably mounted on the tank about an axisextending transversely of the conduit, and the tank auger has a drivingconnection with the conveyor auger including bevel gearing so as to beswingable from its in-use position to an out-of-use position, and inwhich the conveyor auger extends substantially to the lower end of theconduit, and said driving connection also includes an intermediate shaftparallel to the shaft of the conveyor auger, driven by said bevelgearing, and in driving connection with the shaft of the conveyor augerexternally of the lower end of the conduit.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example,with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional end view of a first embodiment of agrain tank and an unloading conveyor, the latter being in its in-useposition,

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a side view corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 to a smaller scale,

FIG. 4 is aview corresponding to FIG. 1 of a third embodiment, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a combine harvester embodying a graintank and unloading conveyor as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, a grain tank is indicated at 1 and an unloadingconveyor at 2. The latter has a tubular conduit 3 housing an auger 4which has a shaft 5. The conduit 3, adjacent its lower end at one side,has a collar 6 carrying a flange 7 which is secured to a flange 8 on aplate 9, ball bearings 10 being located between the flanges 7 and 8, sothat the conveyor 2 can be swung about the transverse axis AB to anout-of-use position in which the conveyor 2 lies alongside the tank 1and extends fore-and-aft in the direction of travel, as is shownchain-dotted in FIG. 3 at 2A. A passage 11 is provided in the plate 9 sothat grain may pass from the tank 1 to the conduit 3, and an auger 12having a shaft 13 is provided in the tank 1 for feeding grain throughthe passage I l.

The shaft 13 is driven and has a driving connection with the shaft 5 aswill now be described. The shaft 13 has a bevel gear wheel 14 meshingwith a bevel gear wheel 15 which in turn meshes with a bevel gear wheel16. The gear wheels 14, 15, 16 are located in a casing of which one part17 is formed by part of the plate 9, and another part 18, the two partsl7, 18 having ball bearings 19 located between them. The rotary axis ofthe gear wheel 15 coincides with the axis AB, so that the gear wheels14, 15, 16 remain in mesh during swinging of the conveyor 2 between itsin-use and out-of'use positions. The gear I wheel 16 is secured to ashaft 20 which projects downwards parallel to the shaft 5 through thebottom of the collar 6 and carries a sprocket wheel 21 externally. Thelatter is connected by a chain 22 to a sprocket wheel 23 on the lowerend of the auger shaft 5 which projects through the bottom wall 3A ofthe conduit 3. The plate 9 is attached to the tank 1 by a bracket 24.

Because of the rotary connection of the conveyor 2 to the tank 1, theconnection is permanent, and grain cannot fall from the tank 1 to theground through the passage 11, during swinging of the conveyor 2 betweenits in-use and out-of-use positions. The casing 17, 18 protects the gearwheels 14, 15, 16 from grain and dust, and the chain drive 21-23 liesout of the path of flow of the grain, so that the auger 4 can extendsubstantially to the bottom of the conduit 3, as shown, and can elevatesubstantially all grain entering the conduit 3, and thus eliminate orgreatly reduce the possibility of blockages.

In FIG. 3, 24 indicates a hand ratchet lever for use in swinging theconveyor 2 between its in-use and out-of-use positions. The lever 24 ispivotally connected by a link 25 in any convenient manner to the conduit3.

The FIG. 2 embodiment is generally similar to the FIG. I embodiment, andonly the differences will be described, like parts being indicated bylike numerals with the addition of the suffix A. In FIG. 2, the gearwheels 14A and 16A mesh directly, there being no intermediate gear, andneither of the rotary axes ofthe gear wheels 14A, 16A coincide with theaxis AB. The gear wheel 14A thus disengages the gear wheel 16A when theconveyor 2A is swung to its out-of-use position. The teeth of the gearwheels 14A and 16A may be specially shaped to facilitate re-engagement.

The gear wheel 14 is preferably splined on the shaft 13, so thatattachment and detachment of the conveyor 2 to and from the tank 1 isfacilitated. That is to say, the conduit 3, the casing l7, l8 and theplate 9 together form a unit, which is attached simply by registeringthe gear wheel 14 with the shaft 13 and pushing the conveyor 2 towardsthe shaft 13 until the latter is engaged by the gear wheel 14, and thensecuring the bracket 24 to the tank 1. Detachment can be effected in thereverse manner. This also applies to the FIG. 2 and 4 embodiments.

With reference to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this also isgenerally similar to the FIG. 1 embodiment and only the differences willbe described, like parts being indicated by like numerals with theaddition of the sufi'rx B.

In FIG. 4, instead of the gear wheel 15B meshing with the gear wheel168, the shaft 26 of the gear wheel 15B carries a gear wheel 27 whichmeshes with gear wheel 168.

The tank 18 has an outwardly projecting neck 28 removably bolted to it,and the neck 68 has an annular flange 29. The neck 6B also has anannular flange 30 which bears rotatably on the flange 29, and is locatedin an annular channel defined by the flange 29 and holding segments 31bolted thereto and having lips 32 overlapping the flange 30. Only onesegment 31 is shown in FIG. 4. The casing parts 17B, 188 for the bevelgear wheels have bearing surfacesat 33.

In FIG. 5, the conveyor 23 is shown in full lines in a raised in-useposition, and in chain-dotted lines in its lowered out-ofuse position at2AB. In its raised position, the conveyor 28 can be adjustedfore-and-aft as indicated by the arrow 34 and the chain-dotted lines 35,36. A hand lever 37 attached to the conduit 3B is provided for movingthe conveyor 28, and cooperates with a segment 38 for locking it inposition. A spring 39 is provided for assisting raising of the conveyor2B.

. In a modification, movement of the conveyor 2B is effected by ahydraulic ram, which replaces the spring 39, and is controlled from thedrivers seat.

The bottom outer comer of the unloading conveyor conduit may bebevelled, as indicated by the line 3X in FIG. 4, so as to prevent thepossibility of grain collecting in the corner.

I claim:

1. Grain handling apparatus comprising a tank for temporarily storingharvested grain, a discharge opening in the bottom of the tank, asubstantially horizontal transfer conveyor in the tank for conveyinggrain to the discharge opening, a discharge conveyor mounted on the tankfor unloading-grain from the tank and depositing it into a suitablereceptacle, means rotatably mounting the inlet end of the dischargeconveyor in continuous communication with the discharge opening formovement between an unloading position inclined outwardly and upwardlyfrom the discharge opening and an out of use position, said transferconveyor including a transfer auger, said discharge conveyor including aconduit and discharge auger rotatably journaled in the conduit and drivemeans connecting the discharge end of the transfer auger to the inletend of the discharge auger including an intermediate shaft rotatableabout an axis parallel to the axis of the discharge auger, bevel gearingto connect one end of the intermediate shaft to the transfer augerincluding a bevel gear on the transfer auger, a bevel gear on one end ofthe intermediate shaft, and an intermediate bevel gear meshing with thebevel gear on the transfer auger and the bevel gear on the intermediateshaft, said intermediate bevel gear being rotatable about an axis whichcoincides with the axis of rotation of the inlet end of the dischargeconveyor and torque transmitting means outside the tank and thedischarge conveyor conduit for connecting the intermediate shaft to oneend of the discharge auger.

2. The grain handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the torquetransmitting means outside the tank and the discharge conveyor conduitincludes a sprocket on the intermediate shaft, a sprocket on the lowerend of the discharge auger, and an endless belt trained around bothsprockets.

3. The grain handling apparatus of claim 2 wherein a hydraulic ram isprovided for effecting movement of the unloading conveyor between anunloading position and an out of use position.

1. Grain handling apparatus comprising a tank for temporarily storing harvested grain, a discharge opening in the bottom of the tank, a substantially horizontal transfer conveyor in the tank for conveying grain to the discharge opening, a discharge conveyor mounted on the tank for unloading grain from the tank and depositing it into a suitable receptacle, means rotatably mounting the inlet end of the discharge conveyor in continuous communication with the discharge opening for movement between an unloading position inclined outwardly and upwardly from the discharge opening and an out of use position, said transfer conveyor including a transfer auger, said discharge conveyor including a conduit and discharge auger rotatably journaled in the conduit and drive means connecting the discharge end of the transfer auger to the inlet end of the discharge auger including an intermediate shaft rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of the discharge auger, bevel gearing to connect one end of the intermediate shaft to the transfer auger including a bevel gear on the transfer auger, a bevel gear on one end of the intermediate shaft, and an intermediate bevel gear meshing with the bevel gear on the transfer auger and the bevel gear on the intermediate shaft, said intermediate bevel gear being rotatable about an axis which coincides with the axis of rotation of the inlet end of the discharge conveyor and torque transmitting means outside the tank and the discharge conveyor conduit for connecting the intermediate shaft to one end of the discharge auger.
 2. The grain handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the torque transmitting means outside the tank and the discharge conveyor conduit includes a sprocket on the intermediate shaft, a sprocket on the lower end of the discharge auger, and an endless belt trained around both sprockets.
 3. The grain handling apparatus of claim 2 wherein a hydraulic ram is provided for effecting movement of the unloading conveyor between an unloading position and an out of use position. 